1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to basketball goals, and more particularly to a goal for indoor play in a play area bounded by a wall having an access door, the goal from which a net is suspended being supported by means of an adjustable pantograph on the upper edge of the door so that the hoop may be set to an elevation suitable for play.
2. Status of Prior Art
The game of basketball, played throughout the world both indoors and outdoors by professionals and amateurs, makes use of a basketball and two goals, one for each end of a playing court. The goal includes a ring or hoop from which a mesh net is suspended, the net acting to momentarily check the basketball as it passes therethrough. The hoop is mounted on an elevated backboard, often formed of tempered glass.
The normal practice is to rigidly mount the hoop so that it is horizontal and extends forwardly from the vertical backboard. This mounting must be sufficiently rigid so that the hoop is capable of withstanding forces applied thereto by a player during a game. These forces are created by the ball bouncing on the hoop or by players coming in contact with the hoop.
In recent years, as players have become taller, the goal has been subjected to increasing abuse as a result of contact with players, giving rise not only to damage to the hoop but also, in some instances, to injury to the player.
A common tactic in playing basketball is the so-called "slam dunk shot," in which the player jumps upwardly with the ball held in his outstretched arms and hands, the ball then being driven downwardly through the hoop. In carrying out this dunk shot, the player makes forceful contact with the hoop by slapping, hitting or pulling the hoop with his hands, wrists or arms.
When the hoop is rigidly mounted, the forces exerted on the hoop by various executions of a slam dunk shot may cause deformation of the hoop. A more serious problem is that the glass backboard on which the hoop is mounted will sometimes shatter under the forces arising from this shot.
One prior art solution to the problem is to provide, as disclosed in the Mahoney et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,503, a breakaway mounting assembly in which the hoop, when subjected by the player to an excessive force, then simply collapses or breaks away from its normal position on the backboard. The drawback to this arrangement is that it interrupts the game which cannot be resumed until the goal is reassembled.
An approach to this problem that is of greater prior art interest with respect to the present invention is that disclosed in the Tyner U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,734, in which the hoop of the goal is joined to a spring-biased bracket, so that when a player executes a slam dunk shot and comes in contact with the hoop, the hoop then swings down from its normal horizontal position to absorb the resultant shock.
In all of the above cited prior art patents, the mounting for the hoop which permits deflection of the hoop to absorb a downward force applied thereto is a relatively complicated mechanism that is expensive to manufacture and requires adjustment or maintenance for proper operation.
Portable basketball goals are known which are adapted to be used in indoor play by children. Such goals consist of a hoop supported by a bracket on a vertical stand anchored on a weighted base, a cardboard backboard being held by the bracket above the stand. This known arrangement is relatively unstable, not only because the stand may be upset by a child crashing into it in play, but also because the backboard supported above the stand is incapable of coping with a basketball thrown against it with more than modest force.
Moreover, such portable goals are incapable of absorbing a downward force applied by a player to the hoop, and the goal, therefore, cannot survive hard play. Also, because the hoop is not deflectable, it may cause injury to a child who hits the hoop with his hand or wrist.